


100 other lifetimes (and each time i choose you)

by biannabeth



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: F/M, Plot Twist, bobby and matthew are valid and i love them, grover getting the love he deserves, historicalfic kinda, historydump, idk what’s up with luke man, timelessau, timetravel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-19
Updated: 2020-12-19
Packaged: 2021-03-11 04:41:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,487
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28179288
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/biannabeth/pseuds/biannabeth
Summary: It was supposed to be movie night. But then there's agents knocking at the door and she's on the way to Olympus Industries. Her head's spinning when she's told why she's there."Someone stole a time machine."Or Annabeth is a historian that's asked to go on a mission into the past, Grover is the pilot and Percy is the soldier. They have instructions to stop the man who stole a time machine, but things just keep going wrong and when they return, Annabeth's life is turned upside down.
Relationships: Annabeth Chase/Percy Jackson, Jason Grace/Piper McLean
Comments: 2
Kudos: 6





	1. Chapter 1

"Don't forget the assignment on Kennedy conspiracies is due on Tuesday." She called out after the crowds of students leaving the lecture hall. 

Hurriedly, Annabeth grabbed her belongings. She was never someone to complain about her workload but still, she would be glad to have the weekend away from grading papers. Today was the first day this semester where none of her classes had anything to hand in. Her own fault for setting so much, really. 

~~~

The house was a mess. As soon as the door swung open, she heard her brothers causing a racket. It was expected of two fifteen year old boys, but honestly, Annabeth would be glad for a night off. 

She peeked around the office door on her way in, not surprised to see her dad slumped over another piece of work. This weeks project was a large, blimp looking thing Annabeth recognised from her studies. The Hindenburg. After one final glance at her fathers sleeping form, she decided to head to the kitchen. 

Annabeth was tired and her brothers were fifteen so all she had to do was text them 'pizza?' before they replied with their orders. 

"Careful, you'll wake dad." She said when they stormed downstairs for food thirty minutes later. The boys only rolled their eyes. Nothing would wake their dad now, he slept like a corpse.

Friday night was movie night and it was Matthew's choice this week, so of course it was some Marvel nonsense that Annabeth didn't pretend to understand - she hadn't concentrated through the first few and now the sequels were lost on her. 

Bobby was stealthily attempting to steal a handful of Annabeth's fries when the doorbell rang. Thankful for the excuse to leave for a moment, she went to answer the door. 

"Professor Chase?" The man at the door was dressed in some type of uniform she didn't recognise and was holding a badge for her to see. "You need to come with us." 

Frowning, Annabeth tried to comprehend what was going on. "I'm sorry, who are you?" 

By now, Bobby and Matthew were stood behind her listening in. The man at the doorway - a young, buff looking guy - was glancing at his watch. 

"No time to explain, Miss, I'm sorry. It's urgent." He was headed to his car and a woman in a similar uniform was waiting with the door open. 

Annabeth wasn't stupid enough to follow the instructions of any man that knocked on her door, but this one had a badge and uniform and smiled sympathetically when she stumbled over her words. "I- What?" 

His coworker came over and flashed Annabeth an apologetic smile. "I'm Hazel, and this is Frank. We can explain as much as we can on the way there, but we're in a bit of a rush and need your assistance." 

With a glance back at her brothers, Annabeth nodded, no less confused. She could leave, no doubt about it. They were old enough to stay home alone, even if dad was technically in the next room. "Stay safe, you two. Door locked until I get back, okay? Make sure you turn the lights off when you go to bed." Annabeth didn't usually kiss their cheeks as a goodbye, but something felt off this time and Matthew's determined nod along with Bobby's puzzled face sent a pang down to her gut. 

The first guy, Frank, stepped aside so that Annabeth could walk to the car. She patted her pockets for her keys and phone before getting in the backseat. 

"I love you, boys. See you soon." Annabeth called out, before Hazel closed the door on her and sat herself in the front. 

Something didn't feel right. Annabeth wasn't stupid, she knew how crazy it was that she was in the backseat of a car with people she'd never met, driving to God knows where. Something was wrong. 

~~~

The building was undeniably huge. When they pulled up outside, Annabeth's head was spinning and trying to put all the pieces together. Hazel had told her she had been specially chosen for something very confidential. She couldn't work out what that was for the life of her. 

The building had large letters on the side and Annabeth cursed her dyslexia. "What does that say?" She asked, nodding to the words. Black writing on a navy wall really didn't sit well with her reading abilities. 

"Olympus Industries," Frank said, without even looking. 

A moment later, they had pulled up next to some back entrance. "This is where we leave you." Hazel said, helping Annabeth out the car and unlocking the building entrance with her fingerprint. "Head down here and take a left. There's a waiting room. Someone will come and find you in a minute." 

Hazel smiled in encouragement and closed the door between them. Annabeth was alone. 

~~~

The waiting room was minimalistic with its white tiled floor and navy walls. There were chairs lining two of the walls and a plant in one corner, but what caught Annabeth's attention was the man. 

He looked to be about her age with unkempt, jet black hair. His eyes were shut and his chin was against his chest, but even with a neck roll peeking over his collar, Annabeth had to admit he was good looking. 

Taking a chair across from him, she spoke quietly. "Are you asleep?" 

"No, ma'am." His words surprised her and she startled for a moment before she composed herself. His voice was husky, maybe she had woken him. 

"Do you know why we're here?" Annabeth asked, looking at where he slouched, eyes still shut. 

A huff, and then: "No, ma'am." 

She rolled her eyes. "We're pretty much the same age, you know. So you don't have to call me ma'am." 

He smirked and his eyes flicked open. They were a vibrant green that sparkled in amusement. "Noted," A pause before he added "ma'am." 

Annabeth glared and turned away from him, unlocking her phone. She was distinctly aware of his eyes on her but she chose to pay no mind, aware that she had stared at him just previously, the only difference being his eyes had been closed. 

She opened her message thread with Bobby and Matthew, smiling when she noticed they'd sent a video. Annabeth hit play and watched as Matthew locked the door in slow motion, wide grin on his face. Bobby laughed loudly from behind the camera and Annabeth hurried to turn down her volume. 

Underneath the video, Bobby had written   
'Knew you'd worry about us not locking up so here ya go ;)' 

She typed a reply. 'Haha, glad you're safe. Not sure what I'm doing atm but i'll keep you as updated as I can' Her phone buzzed as Matthew sent a thumbs up in response. 

The door opened and Annabeth tucked her phone into her pocket, even the man opposite her seemed to wake a bit more. An elder gentleman walked in and nodded to them both. He offered a hand to Annabeth and she stood to shake it. 

"Annabeth Chase, your reputation precedes you." Her smile was tight at his words,  
still unsure of why she was here. 

"And Percy Jackson." The green eyed man, Percy, stood and smiled, offering the gentleman his hand too. "We've heard a lot about you.

"I'm Chiron. I guess you're both wondering why you're here. I'm afraid our explanation must be brief but know that we can inform you of much more when you return." 

Return? Annabeth's head was spinning. From where?

"Follow me. I'll show you the time machine."


	2. Chapter 2

"Time machine?" Percy's voice was almost an octave higher than it had been. Perhaps it was the shock.

"Correct." Chiron says as they enter a conference room. "Someone stole a time machine." 

"How do you steal a time machine?" Percy sounds about as astounded as she felt. First, they're told there's a time machine. Then that it's been stolen? 

"How doesn't matter." Someone speaks. Annabeth spots another man in the corner. Younger than herself, possibly. He's scrawny looking with curly hair and covered head to toe in all sorts of gross looking substances. A sharp contrast to the well-kept setting. "Why doesn't matter either. We just need to get it back." 

Chiron nodded to Annabeth and Percy. "That's where you come in." 

~~~

Annabeth felt sick as they explained. Leo Valdez, genius inventor here at Olympus Industries, had developed a time machine. (He'd tried to explain to them how he'd created a strong enough force to manipulate the fabric of time and create a wormhole but honestly, Annabeth wasn't in the mood to work out how it had happened.)

They were shown footage of someone, Luke Castellan, kidnapping a pilot, climbing in the time machine - which looked like some kind of spherical, robot eyeball about the size of a small building and wrapped in two giant seatbelts - and vanishing. 

"So what do we need to do?" Percy was the one to break the silence after their explanation. 

"You need to follow them." Chiron said, bluntly. "He has a time machine, he could be changing history as we speak, altering our own timeline and we would never know." 

Annabeth's heart sank. "But that could be catastrophic. The butterfly affect that could happen from the slightest alteration could create an entirely different universe." 

"We're well aware, Miss Chase," Chiron said, glaring at a guilty looking Leo. "We never intended for anyone to be able to steal it." 

Annabeth muttered her thoughts to herself as she tried to comprehend what was going on. There was a time machine. And now it was stolen. How were they expected to follow them unless...

"We have a second time machine. Granted, it's being tweaked now as it was only a prototype, never intended to be used again... but it might do the job. Should do, anyway." Leo babbled, not providing Annabeth with any reassurance. 

Chiron cut him off. "We've tracked the mothership to New Jersey, May 6th, 1937." 

Percy frowned and went to say something. 

"The Hindenburg. Why has he gone to the Hindenburg?" Annabeth spoke up. Time machines and technology weren't really her forte, but history she could do. She lived and breathed history, knew the ins and outs of every textbook she'd ever read. 

"We were hoping you could tell us that." Chiron grimaced. "What might a man want to change about that time?" 

Annabeth wracked her brain. "There were 37 fatalities, maybe he wants to save someone?" 

Chiron spoke quickly to someone stood in the doorway that Annabeth hadn't spotted. "Jason, get someone looking at those casualties. Any connection to Castellan will help." Jason nodded and dashed off. 

"We'll look into it. In the meantime, you two need to get into costume." 

~~~

Apparently, her 'costume' was a semi-realistic 1930s outfit. Annabeth felt rather claustrophobic under the heavy fabrics that she wasn't used to but she appreciated the authenticity of it all. Except her bra. She made many a comment about the error.

"Underwire bras weren't a thing, they didn't exist." She'd said as she'd been made to hand over her phone and keys. 

"Please," Percy appeared from another cubicle near wardrobe. "who's going to see your bra anyway?" 

Jason, the man who had looked into the casualties, had Annabeth skim read a list of names, hoping it might ignite an indication of who Castellan might want to save. No one seemed familiar. 

A girl with choppy, braided hair handed Percy a wallet which he whistled at. "This is heavy, how much money do we need?" He mused, turning it over in his hand. The girl just shrugged and moved over to fix Annabeth's styled hair. 

Chiron returned and handed Percy a gun. 

"Whoa, what? Why does he need a gun? You can't take that to the 1930s, they've never seen one like that!" Annabeth asked, incredulously. 

Percy smirked as Chiron defended him. "He's the soldier. That's his duty. The weapon will be kept hidden until it is necessary. The only person who should see it is Castellan, and that will be with the intention of him dying by it." 

"But-" Annabeth started. 

"Only three of you can travel in the Argo II to follow Castellan, and we chose you all very carefully. Percy is the soldier, the defence. He's to keep you safe and kill Castellan. You, Annabeth, are the historian. Keep history the same and provide information with what's going on and how to better blend in. And this..." Chiron gestured to another person as he walked over. "Is Grover. He's going to pilot the time machine." 

Grover looked a little older than Annabeth and had a peppering of facial hair down on his chin. He looked nervous, something which certainly didn't calm her heart rate. He was biting his lip. Maybe he was just anxious to going back in time, or maybe he knew this trip wouldn't be a nice trip into history - at least not for him. 

Annabeth had her own reservations about going into history as a woman. Granted, 1930s America wasn't the worst place to be a woman, but it was certainly unfavorable. Grover, on the other hand, would have no fun pretty much anywhere in American history. 

"Chiron, are we sure this is a good idea? Can't someone else pilot this thing? I don't know how it works across the pond, but I am black. There's literally no place in American history that's going to be awesome for me." Grover mumbled, tugging at his jacket. 

"You're the only person here qualified. If you remember correctly, Castellan took our only other pilot." Chiron said, patting him on the back and gesturing for him to climb up the ladder into the Argo II. 

Annabeth noticed this ship was no way near as glamorous as the one that had been stolen. Leo wasn't kidding when he'd said they hadn't intended to use it again. It was smaller and looked like some kind of antique. There was a round hatch in the middle that looked to function as a door. It looked tiny inside. Annabeth's heart crept into her throat. 

Grover went in first, taking a seat next to all the control panel, they followed afterwards. It was cramped and she had to dance around Percy to be able to sit down. There were various clicking noises as Grover and Percy put there seatbelts on. Annabeth frowned at all the straps. 

"Is this really necessary?" She asked, pulling one strap over her shoulder and untangling it from the one that goes around her waist. 

"Yes." Grover responded bluntly as the screens in front of him lit up. 

She watched as Percy tightened his belt a bit more and did the same, feeling her breath quicken. The room was tiny, she was strapped in tight and there were two other people with her. Her claustrophobia was going to kill her before the machine could. 

Percy caught her eye and nodded. Maybe he was trying to reassure her but it did nothing to calm her bubbling nerves. 

"I'm Percy." He said to the back of Grover's head. 

"Grover." The pilot introduced himself. 

"Annabeth." She added to complete the trio. 

"Hold on to your stomachs." Grover said, as the machine whirred and the hatch closed. A small light lit above them, illuminating Percy's face as he closed his eyes and gripped his belt, knuckles white. Annabeth barely had time to consider what was going to happen before there was a loud pop and the whole machine started to quiver.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it’ll start to drift from the Timeless plot soon I promise. im uploading the first chunk quick so it doesn’t get too dull 
> 
> join my discord! aGnRjeP52g
> 
> as always, thanks for reading!


	3. Chapter 3

She'd thought about time travel before. She was a historian, of course she had. But she'd only thought about if it were possible and how it could be done. She'd never considered how it would feel to be tossed around and thrown into the 1930s.

Her stomach was churning and it physically hurt to keep her eyes open. It felt like her brain might turn to slush and start frothing out of her ears.

Eventually, the machine thudded and stopped rattling, leaving just a small whirring sound as it came to a stop.

The hatch slid open and Grover sighed in relief, looking exhausted. Very quickly, Percy was unbuckled and sliding out of the machine. Without the steps on the other side, it was a rather steep drop but he jumped gracefully before running to the nearest tree and throwing up. Lovely.

Annabeth felt dizzy as she fumbled with the straps of her belt. She carefully slid her legs out of the hatch, preparing to jump nicely but her knees buckled when she hit the floor and she fell.

"You good?" Grover called, still in the Argo II.

"Think so." She answered. "Can't feel my legs though."

They took a minute to pull themselves back together before Percy stumbled over again. "You gonna get out of that death trap?" He asked Grover who was still perched in the entrance of the machine.

"Oh, no thank you. I am much more comfortable staying here in this thing. I'm no use to anyone except for travel. I'm going to stay here. No harm done." Grover smiled tightly, glancing around the vast expanse of trees around them as though he worried they might be spotted.

Annabeth frowned. "Is it safe to stay here?" She looked around. She hadn't noticed till now but the air smelt different, muskier. There was a humming in the air.

The Hindenburg.

Eight hundred feet long and one hundred and thirty five feet in diameter. The breath was sucked out her lungs. It was hauntingly beautiful.

The knowledge of what was going to happen burned in the back of her mind.

Her focus must have intrigued Grover because now he was out of the ship and stood beside her looking up at the sky. "Is that what we're here for?" He questioned.

"I believe so..."

~~~

The road was mucky and painful underfoot. Or maybe that was just the way her shoes cinched her toes, making her long for her comfortable sneakers.

Annabeth wasn't really paying attention to the boys conversation. Percy seemed frustrated at why they couldn't travel in time to before the machine was stolen and kill Castellan then, but Grover's answer about entering your own timeline and "not all of the pilot" returning was enough to keep him quiet.

A bus came up behind them and Annabeth grabbed Grover's sleeve and pulled him aside, Percy following. "Here, this will be quicker."

She shot Grover a sympathetic glance when the driver pointed him to the back of the bus but he just shrugged, clearly expecting it. It wasn't right and Annabeth would've caused a fuss but now didn't seem like the time to do it. Especially considering how much it would alter their present day if it were to amount to anything.

Percy sat beside her stoically but Annabeth just ignored him, too engrossed in everything they drove past. There were cars, lots of them, and people in the height of 1930s fashion. It wasn't Annabeth's favorite decade, but it was all so surreal.

About twenty minutes later, Percy tugged on her arm. "Come on, Professor, the balloon's just here. Tell us what we're getting into."

As they got off the bus, she made some kind of retort about the Hindenburg certainly not being any old balloon, but the soldier just rolled his eyes. "Alright, wise girl."

Annabeth scoffed. "Was that supposed to be an insult?"

As they walked, Annabeth explained the situation. "There's a lot of wind and rain coming, that's gonna prevent the Hindenburg landing. From all the turns, there'll be a build up in static electricity because of the friction. At 7:25pm, they'll drop the mooring ropes. But the ground crew are gonna drag the ropes through the muddy grass."

Grover continued. "Which will ground the ship and cause a spark in the metal hull."

"It then ignites a leaking hydrogen balloon, burning 2,000 cubic litres and 36 people alive."

"You said there were 37 casualties?" Percy asked.

She stuttered for a second, surprised that he remembered. "There were. One of them was on the ground. Technically didn't burn alive. Hopefully, anyway. The impact of the ship falling would've been a much more pleasant death."

Grover winced at their casual conversation on fatalities but Percy seemed unfazed.

"So what's Castellan doing here?"

"Not everyone died." Annabeth stated. "Maybe he wanted to make a bad thing worse and kill all 97 on board. We can't let that happen. The consequences for present day could be catastrophic. We need to find him."

"And then soldier boy shoots." Grover summarised, looking at Percy warily. He nodded. Annabeth felt unnerved by how composed he was. He was going to kill a guy. She knew it would have to happen but that didn't make it okay.

~~~

Somehow, they find themselves in a tavern. Annabeth made a mental comment about how this seemed very typical of Jersey when she watched a small gathering down several shots each.

"Maybe you should wait outside, Grover..." Percy said, noticing the glances they were receiving from all the pretentious white-folk.

Grover turned to Annabeth, bleating nervously under his breath. "How safe do you think I'm gonna be out there?"

She thought about the time period and the location before whispering, "Just don't make eye contact with anyone..."

Annabeth winced at her own suggestion and couldn't fault Grover's sarcastic comment of "So glad I came. And to think I wanted to stay on the ship..." before he made his way out.

Percy took Annabeth's arm and led her to the bar before speaking to the man pouring drinks.

"Hey, man, how's it going?"

The man only looked puzzled and continued to sort through his bottles. "How's what going where?"

She shot Percy an angry look, hoping it said something like _'you can't talk to people like that, this isn't present day anymore'_.

"How do you do, sir?" She started politely. "We just wondered if you'd seen this man anywhere?" Annabeth handed him a photo of Luke Castellan from the footage.

The man shrugged and handed it back. "Don't think so."

They sighed as he stalked away, Percy running his fingers to his now neatly styled hair.

Then Annabeth spotted her. Kate Drummond. For a split second, Annabeth let herself wonder what on earth the woman was doing here before she remembered. _Oh._

Percy followed her gaze and swallowed hard. "Who's that?"

"Kate Drummond. She has a column in the Hearst papers. She travels a lot, covered the wars in Manchuria and Ethiopia. Her husband was a soldier in them but he passed a few months after the wedding. They had a son." She frowned and did the math quickly. "He'd be about seven this year. She's a fantastic writer." Percy glanced at the woman and Annabeth noticed something in his eyes. "What? Have you heard of her?"

Percy shook his head. "Reminds me of someone, that's all."

Before she can stop him, Percy is approaching the woman at the pinball machine. When she reaches them, she catches them mid-conversation.

"You're a soldier," Kate states.

Annabeth watches a smile appear on Percy's face. "How'd you know?"

Kate mentions something about knowing too many soldiers before Annabeth can step in and introduce herself.

"Miss Drummond? You're a hell of a writer, it's lovely to meet you."

"That's very kind of you."

Annabeth asks if she's here for the Hindenburg landing in which Kate informs them she will be riding it back to Europe in order to cover the coronation. She makes a comment about how stuck-up the passengers may be and Percy chuckles.

"Maybe you won't have to take that trip after all."

Annabeth has an elbow against his ribs before he can say anything else.

Percy just flashes Kate the photo of Castellan as an easy change of subject. "Have you seen this man?"

"He was here a few hours ago. Picked up by the officers to work as ground crew."

~~~

"Any luck? Grover asked when the two of them joined him outside.

"Kate told us a bit about Castellan." Percy replied. Grover frowned.

"Kate Drummond." Annabeth informed him. "She only has about 90 minutes to live. She's the one on the ground as the Hindenburg crashes."

"Wait," Percy pulled on her arm so she was facing him. "You stood there chatting to her like that and you know she's about to die? You told me she has a family!"

Annabeth shrugged her arm loose from his grip. "You heard Chiron, we can't change anything."

She hoped the sorry look on her face explained how she felt. Annabeth wasn't heartless, she just couldn't change history. Percy followed after her and Grover reluctantly.

There was a large crowd on the field by now. The trio looked around for Castellan helplessly. They'd never find him amongst all these people. But Annabeth did spot someone else.

"Commander Rosendahl?" She said, approaching a man in uniform. He had the same steely gaze and stern features that Annabeth recognised from her textbook. Everything was so real, the history she had studied was playing in front of her eyes. She still wasn't quite over that yet. "Sorry to bother you, but this is urgent. This man..." She pats Percy's arm and he hands the photo over. "He's working as one of your ground crew. We need to find him quickly."

Percy evidently had no clue who they were talking to but he got the idea and joined in. "He's a threat to your base, sir."

Rosendahl raised an eyebrow sceptically. Annabeth's brain whirred.

"This is Doctor Dre. I'm Nurse Jackie." She said, trying to create a story. Grover shot her a look, presumably about her choice of names. It didn't matter, no one in 1937 would think anything of it. "We're from General Hospital. This is a patient of ours. He has a bad case of Spanish Flu. It's urgent we find him."

The Commander nodded. "Of course. I'll help however I can."

He took the photo to a group of men and showed them the photo. Presumably they said something, but Annabeth couldn't hear for the buzzing of the Hindenburg.

Grover put his watch in her line of sight. 7:20. 5 more minutes.

Percy rolled his shoulders and tensed. Soldier mode engaged, Annabeth presumed.

"Split up. Don't engage with Castellan, if you see him, find me first."

With a curt nod, the three of them parted.

**PERCY**

He pursed his lips, looking for any sign of Castellan. He didn't have much to go off, provided he had changed clothes. Everyone they'd shown the photo to so far had seemed put off by his outfit - a navy blue jumpsuit which they constantly referred to as 'pyjamas' - so surely they'd have mentioned it if they'd seen him. Kate certainly would.

Kate. Percy spotted her with a camera amongst the ground crew. He could hear his heartbeat thundering in his head. Percy wasn't sure why he was so drawn to her.

No. That's a lie. He knew exactly why.

She was a soldiers wife, a writer. A mother. She also looked familiar with her brown locks and warm, coffee coloured eyes. Percy couldn't bare to watch. She didn't have much time.

Against his better judgement, he ran towards her. He heard a woman call his name. Part of him wondered if it was Annabeth, but he didn't allow himself to linger on the thought.

"Hi, there." He said as he reached Kate. "Remember me?"

Kate gave him a once over and turned back to her camera. "Can this wait? I'm working."

Feeling guilty, Percy pulled her by the bend in her elbow. "Afraid there's no time." His watch burned into his wrist. Kate struggled against his grip. "This can't wait."

She yelled, thrashing and managing to get free of him. He growled in frustration and pulled her one last time. "It's gonna blow!" He exclaimed, putting himself between her and the ship.

A beat.

He glanced at his watch. 7:25. Had Annabeth told them the wrong time?

Kate huffed in frustration. "Get off of me!" She said, pushing his shoulder and stalking off.

The ship was still in the air. The ropes were hanging from the ship, Percy noticed. This was it, why hadn't it gone up in flames?

The crowd surged towards the ship and left Percy looking lost.

Grover moved to stand beside him. "That's not supposed to happen, right?"

Percy took a breath. "Where's Annabeth?"

**ANNABETH**

Annabeth wasn't the best at following instructions. Percy had told her to find him if she saw Castellan and... well she had tried. At least she could say that much.

She was, however, good at following people it seemed. She weaved around vehicles and buildings, keeping an eye on Luke Castellan as she walked. Eventually, he went into what looked like a plane hangar. After a moment, Annabeth followed him in.

Almost immediately, a hand was over her mouth and she was pushed against the wall. She felt helpless. "You following us?" A man said. She noticed that it wasn't Castellan before realising his arm was against her stomach and his watch was digging into her hip. For a brief moment, she was trapped. Annabeth suddenly regretted not taking that stage-fighting class back when she studied Shakespeare, perhaps even faux self-defence would be helpful now.

As quickly as he had pinned her down, he was off of her again, groaning and hugging his gut. Percy was there. Annabeth had no clue what he was doing other than he landed a pretty good punch to the man's jaw before pointing a gun at him. "Take me to Castellan."

Instead, the man took a step forward.

_Bang. Bang. Bang._

Three shots. They echoed in Annabeth's skull.

They stood for a moment, Grover peering into the hanger only to gag and leave again. Percy looked to her.

She couldn't quite comprehend what she saw in his eyes. Remorse? Guilt? They were hard and cold, not glittering in amusement like they had been a mere few hours ago. He had just killed a man, there was no doubt about that. He looked like he wanted to say something to her, but instead, he swallowed and followed her across the hangar.

The Hindenburg was still in the air. Castellan had just saved the Hindenburg.

"How did he even do it? Save it, I mean." Percy asked asked, walking over to the body and checking his pockets.

The was a moment before Grover spoke. "The mooring ropes. The crew didn't let them touch the wet grass. It didn't ground, no spark in the hull, no boom."

"But why?" Annabeth cried. "Surely that's more concerning."

Percy stood and scowled at her. "So an extra 37 people will live another day, isn't that a good thing?"

"No!" Annabeth tried to comprehend what was going on. "That could change the present in so many ways... I can't even comprehend..."

Percy threw something to Grover and he caught it. "Finally, something I can understand."

Annabeth only realised what it was when Grover spoke about rewiring it to track the other walkie's signal and find Castellan. He started working immediately and Annabeth decided to get some air.

She was alone for a few minutes before Percy came out to join her, obviously realising he was of no use to Grover. Anger boiled out of her before she could possibly stop herself.

"Why did you use the gun? Why did they even let you bring it?" Percy looked like he was about to say something snarky and Annabeth could practically smell his smugness when he reminded her that she'd been saved by him and his gun. She didn't care and didn't give him a chance to respond. "We are in history. We are surrounded by Nazi's. What if someone were to see that gun? Say they take it to Berlin? Now the Nazi's have a weapon like this way before their time. How does that change it all, huh? You preach about saving those 37 people today, but how many people will die because of you stupidly letting someone see that gun of yours? It's my job to make sure there's no mess, that nothing changes. You just wanted to make my life impossible!"

He ran a hand through his hair. "Annabeth, there's always gonna be a mess. We'll make it up as we go. I'll get Castellan - which I will need the gun for - and we can go home."

"So if you're job is to get Castellan, why did you run off after Kate?"

Percy doesn't respond, he just looks at her. There's a softness in his eyes that Annabeth doesn't expect. She's swimming in his gaze, in the way his green irises seem drowned in their own building tears. It surprises her.

Before their stare can become too intense, Grover calls out.

When they walk into the hangar, Grover shrugs and offers them a look at the inside of the walkie. "Useless. The lead wires are soldered, and there's this thing..."

Percy took a step towards him for a better look. "Whoa, that's a blasting cap. This is a detonator."

Suddenly the pieces fell into place. Annabeth was reminded of Kate's column. The people getting on board: John D. Rockefeller, Jr., Omar Bradley, Igor Sikorsky. All heading to the King's Coronation. Rockefeller was going to help form the United Nations. Bradley's crucial to planning D-Day, Sikorsky invented the helicopter. They're fundamental throughout history, weaved amongst the spine of every book she'd ever opened.

Maybe that's why Luke Castellan is saving the Hindenburg. Not to blow it on the way in, but to blow it on the way out? The damage would be tenfold if one of those people goes down, but all of them?

Annabeth voiced her concerns in a rant, Percy and Grover frowning and trying to follow along.

"Hands up!" The sheriff runs in with his own gun drawn, his deputies in tow. One of them nods to the dead body and Annabeth curses under her breath. They are so screwed.

~~~

Annabeth bites her lip to stop herself from saying something she'll regret as the Sheriff shoves them into two cells, Grover in one, Annabeth and Percy in the other.

Grover says something, inaudible to Annabeth, but she doesn't miss the way he's shoved into the cell with a rough "Shut up, boy,".

When the Sheriff leaves the room, Percy rattles the door of the cell and inspects the lock. She raises her eyebrows to ask a question but Percy shakes his head. "Would be easy with a hairpin, but I guess you don't have one of those."

She decides its better to stay quiet than make a retort.

When he begins pacing, Annabeth sighs. "We're going to rot in here," Percy starts, "while all those people die..."

"You're thinking about Kate." It's a statement, not a fact. He doesn't disagree. "What is it about her?"

He shrugs childishly. Fine. She can be childish too.

"I didn't think you were the kind of soldier to blow off orders because of a girl." Annabeth pursed her lips, just waiting for a rise out of him. It never comes.

Percy closes his eyes and mouths something almost like a prayer.

"Kate reminds me of my mom."

Oh. _Oh._

She keeps quiet, knowing the conversation was more than she bargained for.

"Single mom, late husband was a soldier, she's a writer. They even look alike, a little."

Nodding, Annabeth lets him talk. It seems difficult for him to admit and Annabeth senses there's more churning emotion between the lines than in them. There's something in Percy's history that is hurt, scarred and tortured. She doesn't dare push in case he falls apart at the seams.

"My dad died on a tour when I was young. Mom is all I've had for as long as I can remember. She worked so hard. She's had at least three part time jobs on the go since I was born. She's my hero. And so to see Kate like that and for you to just... I can't just accept that she's going to die."

Annabeth nods. She could try to sympathise with him but she knows what it's like to have a rough past. No amount of 'that sounds tough' and 'I know what that feels like' will ever make it feel better. Instead, she opts to lift the mood.

"She sounds wonderful."

Percy smiles and Annabeth feels herself relax. "She is, honestly. She makes the best cookies. They're blue and she always adds twice as many chocolate chips as it says in the recipe."

His eyes light up again, their sparkle returning.

"What the hell kinda gun is this?" A deputy enters, waving in the air.

Annabeth's gaze hardens and she glares at Percy. He softens under her 'I told you so' look.

Something must have clicked in his head because when Annabeth frowns, he winks. She could swear his eyes swept over her chest but surely not. Percy waves to get Grover's attention and asks him to create a distraction.

"Excuse me, sir?" The deputy ignored Grover. "Excuse me? Can I get a drink of water?"

The deputy turned to sneer at Grover. "Swallow your spit, boy."

Percy moves his hands in motion to get him to continue.

"I- I'm not a boy, actually." The deputy takes a step towards his cell as Grover speaks and Annabeth's heart climbs up into her mouth. "You have eyes, correct? You can tell I'm not a child, _correct_? And I am definitely not your son. So don't call me 'boy'."

"I'm not sure you realise where you are, _boy_." Is all the reply he gets.

Annabeth only met the guy a few hours ago, but she knows him enough to figure that confronting an irrelevant old deputy on his racism is not on the top of his agenda. Her heart swells with pride though, when Grover clears his throat.

"Oh, sure I do, I'm in the dam stone age. But man, I hope you live a good, long life. Long enough to watch Michael Jordan dunk. Michael Jackson dance. Mike Tyson punch. Really just any black guy named Michael! Or see who's President in 2008! That's gonna suck for you! I hope you see it all! Cause the future is not on your side, _boy_!"

The deputy doesn't seem too bothered by Grover's words and turns to leave the room, a thin smile creeping across his face. Grover mumbles, anxiously. As soon as the door shuts, Percy turns to Annabeth.

"Take off your bra."

Annabeth splutters. Before she has a chance to make a retort, Percy persists.

"Your modern bra."

It clicks. The underwire.

It's certainly an awkward manoeuvre. She faces the corner wall, trying to keep what remains of her dignity. Thankfully, Percy and Grover look the other way, eyes trained on the door and waiting for the deputy's return.

She whisper-shouts his name and throws the bra, one arm keeping her shirt tightly bundled around her chest. Annabeth winces as he uses his teeth to rip a hole in one side and pull out the wiring. When he throws it back to her, she allows herself a split second to grieve her bank account - this will be an expensive one to replace.

Slipping it back on is more difficult because suddenly there's a lot happening behind her. When she's finally presentable, both cell doors are unlocked, Grover is nervous bleating again and Percy just landed a brilliant shiner on the deputy's nose. She thinks the deputy is unconscious but she can't be sure, either way, she spots the baton in his hand and is grateful that the man isn't moving.

"Go, go, go." Percy calls, making a mad dash for the exit before anyone can see what they've done and lock them up all over again.

~~~

"How do we find a bomb on a balloon?"

"It's not-"

"Sorry, wise girl, it's not a balloon, it's a death trap. It's irrelevant, how do we find the bomb?"

The three of them are storming down the corridors of The Hindenburg, dodging staff and playful passengers alike on their hunt for the thing that might get them all killed. When Annabeth turned round for a quick headcount of the team, she found that Percy had bumped into Kate.

"I need a steward!" She cried, trying to back away from him. The trio, Percy, Grover and she, were quick to hush her up. "You attacked me!"

"No, I am trying to save you. There is a bomb, planted by the guy in the photo. Please. You've got to help us."

Annabeth is taken aback by just how sincere Percy sounds. His green eyes are glistening and she swears she can see his lip quiver.

With a huff, Kate leads them to the kitchens of the ship, telling them that this is where she had last seen Castellan. Instantaneously, the three of them dart about to search the counters and tables for the bomb. Annabeth's head is spinning.

"Hey, I got something." Percy pulls a device out from underneath a countertop. It beeps and reads a number in bold, red LEDs and Kate's eyes widen. "We've got to get everyone off this ship. Now."

"So, here's the thing..." Grover's voice snaps Annabeth back to reality. He's looking outside the window and watching the ground move further away. Wait. Watching the ground move further away, no, this can't be happening.

Her heart climbs into her throat as Percy snaps into action. His movements are careful and delicate as to not knock something that will set the bomb off any sooner than it's already planning to blow. His tentative response to her question about his bomb diffusing experience is more than a little unnerving.

"I've seen it done. I had some training in Afghanistan."

"Since when were we fighting Afghanistan?" Kate questions, causing Annabeth and Grover to eye each other.

Instead of answering, Percy turns his head to Annabeth. "I need to you to ground the ship. Get the people off." His stare was intense. The glistening of his eyes was gone, replaced with a cold gleam. Soldier mode. They're so close that Annabeth watches him gulp and can see his individual eyelashes as he blinks.

She nods, determined to help. She needed a weapon... A kitchen knife catches her eye and she picks it up by the handle. It's no sword or even a dagger, but she would know how to use it if it was necessary. You point the pointy bit in the bad person, how hard could it be? Grover follows suit and grabs some more weaponised utensils and together they're run out of the kitchen and down the hall.

Annabeth knew the floor plan to The Hindenburg like it was her own home so she weaved through passengers confidently, turning periodically to make sure Grover was still on her tail. The cockpit was easy enough to get to once everyone was out of the way. She supposed she should warn the passengers but there was no need, what she had planned would sort it. Though when they'd left the kitchen, the timer had said 3:17 so they'd better hurry up with it. Her head was reeling on what she would tell the Captain, every possible cover would reveal something they couldn't know about history. Come on, Annabeth. Make yourself into your own part of history.

"Stop!" She called, barging into the cockpit, knife at arms length. "We're the Anarchist Black Cross. We have a bomb on this ship." As she spun around in an attempt to scare the crew, she spotted Grover with his knife to the Captain's neck. It would almost look intimidating if it weren't for the fact that she could still make out the residue from chopping vegetables on the silver of the blade.

"You will land now and await further demands." Her hand shook as she pointed it. She must look awfully skittish. Nothing happens. The edges of the Captain's mouth twitch as if he's about to laugh and Annabeth flashes her eyes at Grover.

Thankfully, he gets the hint. "Do it or I'll cut his throat, you Nazis!"

Eventually, one of the crew members hits the siren and she can hear someone calling them to drop the mooring ropes.

**PERCY**

His fingers twitch as he manoeuvres the wires of the bomb in the pads of his thumbs.

"Ask me something. It relaxes me to talk, we need all the calm we can get right about now." He calls to Kate who is watching him with fear and curiosity.

"Well-" He can hear the tension in her voice. "Where did this glowing clock come from?" The bomb flashes the countdown in face. "Or you? You're not from here, are you?" 

He aches to give her the information she wants. She's a curious reporter and it's her job to ask questions, but Percy is very aware that they may only have moments left to live. Two moments and forty nine seconds, to be precise. So what does he do? He cracks a joke. Of course, his name is most definitely not Buck Rogers and the bomb is not from outer space, they both know as much. The small smile she offers makes it worth it.

A split second later and she yelps as a man slams a butchers knife into the counter a mere inch from her hand. Percy's all go and manages to land a few good punches to the guys face before a few hit him. That's gonna leave a bruise, he thinks as the mans fist thumps his gut and he gets shoved against a cabinet. The bomb beeps again. One minute thirty two.

He somehow gets behind this big brute of a man and latches onto him, arms round his neck. An elbow to the stomach makes him regret that approach but he doesn't have time to reconsider. Fifty eight seconds.

Percy and the man shove each other around the kitchen in an awful (and painful) dance. Something smashes underfoot which causes the man to freeze for a moment. Percy, ever the impulsive fighter, uses this as a distraction and slams the man's body weight into a table. It splits in half and the bowls of fruit roll onto the floor. Thirty one seconds.

While the man is semi-subdued, he tries to make a dash back to the bomb. It needed detonating and Percy needed all the time he could get to figure out how to do such a thing. Twenty nine.

He gets pulled back before he can reach it.

À la Rapunzel in Tangled, Kate is suddenly stood over Percy armed with a frying pan. She deals a surprisingly good thwack to the man's face, but Percy doesn't have time to offer any congratulations to her. Fifteen.

He had no time. He didn't even know what wires to pull, what to disconnect or what any of the strange looking lettering down one side meant. Instead of pulling his hair out, he grabbed some scissors. At least if he gets this wrong, they're only going down fifteen seconds earlier than anticipated, right?

Snip.

Percy doesn't even have a chance to be proud of himself before he hears the telltale cock of a gun behind him.

"Don't shoot, you idiot!" Kate cries, diving at the man to put off his aim which had been Percy. He knows as soon as the bullet leaves the chamber that maybe she should have just let him shoot because the bullet flies through the ceiling above them and the after affects are not exactly desirable.

The Hindenburg shudders and flames erupt, burning his skin. Percy grabs Kate and runs.

**ANNABETH**

She could smell burning and heard The Hindenburg creaking above her. It's just a shell now, a metal skeleton of what it had been merely five minutes ago. Annabeth and Grover had jumped from the window in the cockpit and she was almost certain she'd busted her ankle when she landed, but adrenaline was pumping around her body too fast for her to feel it.

Someone was crying a few feet in front of them, a young girl with two blonde plaits. Immediately, Grover picked the girl up and carried her off. She went to follow him but as soon as she stood upright, someone was in her face.

Luke Castellan.

The video footage she had been shown at Olympus Industries really didn't do the man justice. He was stunning in a ruggedly handsome kind of way, but his image was ruined by the ugly scar that ran over his eye and down one cheek. Annabeth became very aware that she was in no position to fight. Castellan was a foot taller than her with broad shoulders and a gleam in his eye. She was terrified, untrained and no longer armed and likely to have a broken ankle.

"We need to talk." His voice was croaky, she noted. "You don't understand who and what you're dealing with."

"I understand that you're a psychopath that's trying to make history worse than it already is."

"That depends on your point of view, Annabeth."

She freezes. "How do you know my name?"

"I know everything about you." Luke purses his lips as though he's deciding what to tell her. "You're father's useless. You're trying to follow in his and your mothers footsteps despite not wanting to. And you don't really know what those footsteps are. All you have are those two boys back home that rely on you to make an income. You know how I know?"

He doesn't wait for an answer. Of course she doesn't know.

"We're good friends, Annabeth. Family, even. This was not my first trip into history."

Their are tears building in her eyes under his glare. What was going on?

"Why should I believe anything you say?"

His jaw tenses. "We're family, Annabeth. I wouldn't lie to my family."

Suddenly, Castellan grabs her shoulders and shields himself behind her. Percy was on his way and she was the only barrier between Percy's gun and the terrorist they followed here. Brilliant.

Hoping that he can read her eyes, Annabeth flashes him a pleading look.

"I know for a fact you won't shoot." Castellan brags. Oh, but he's so wrong.

Her heart is in her mouth when she hears the bang and feels the air besides her part as the bullet whizzes past her, narrowly missing her head and making Luke step back to regain his composure. Another bang and Percy ducks. It doesn't matter that it was aimed at him.

Kate falls.

Percy is by her side in an instant, muttering reassurances. Annabeth can only watch in horror as Kate sobs in his arms, begging for her life. She feels a hand on her shoulder, Grover.

Kate's eyes go glassy and she goes deadweight in Percy's arms. She watches has he sets her on the ground and backs away, lip quivering, and is reminded of what he'd told her in the cell. Kate reminded him of his mom and now she had bled to death from a bullet wound in his arms.

Not wanted to rush him, Annabeth looks at Grover and they seem to understand each other. It's time to go home.

~~~

The feeling of her stomach churning doesn't disappear when they land this time. Grover slams his hand onto a button on his control panel and the door to the Argo II opens slowly and allows her and Grover to exit the ship almost as if they were in a trance. Percy falls out with very little grace as always but she doesn't have the heart to find it funny after what they'd just witnessed.

Chiron, Leo and several of the tech crew are surrounding a computer. "May 7th, 1937. Correct me if anything's wrong." Chiron starts talking before Annabeth can even grasp what's going on. "In the early morning, The Hindenburg was bombed by the Anarchist Black Cross. The ship had begun to land when it went up in flames and there were only two casualties."

The trio stumbled over to where everyone was reading articles. "Two casualties, a reporter by the name of Kate Drummond and a man with burns so severe that they couldn't recognise the body." Annabeth pretends not to notice the way Percy flinches when he catches the photo of Kate in the article.

"You're shaking your head." The girl with choppy hair says to Annabeth from where she stands hunched over the table. "What's different?"

"Everything's wrong. The Anarchist Black Cross? That's us, escaped prison and disappeared without a trace."

Chiron raises an eyebrow but Grover just shrugs.

"So, Castellan got away?"

Annabeth clears her throat, still unsure whether to laugh at the tension in the room or cry. "There were only two casualties. But there were supposed to be 37. And Luke was trying to kill everyone on the ship. We were lucky to do what we did."

Everyone in the room stays silent. There's a scratch of a pencil as Jason scribbles some notes down into a notebook and the tap of a keyboard as the girl with the choppy hair and colorful eyes types into a search bar.

The first person to interrupt them is Chiron. "So, do we know the motive? Why does he want to kill everyone on board? What's the intention?"

Annabeth can practically hear the cogs turning in her head as she considers everything she knew. Luke had been trying to take out some very influential people before they had a chance to do their part in history, he hadn't wanted them to follow through. But why? America was built on the foundations that those people helped build so why would he do that unless he didn't want America to be the way it is.

"He's trying to kill America in the crib. Rewrite history before it's even written."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> in my other published versions of the story, this is actually chapters 3-7 but in an attempt to lessen the updates and overall chapter number, i lumped them all together (and i'll probably continue to do the same for the whole story)


	4. Chapter 4

**ANNABETH**

After a quick debrief, they were finally allowed to change out of their 1930s outfits and head back into normality. Annabeth changed as fast as she could and pocketed her phone and keys. A man she doesn't recognises tends to her ankle and sets it in a plaster cast but she doesn't stay long enough to catch his name, Chiron had told her that Hazel and Frank were waiting in a car outside to drop her off at home so she was keen not to keep them waiting.

Something feels off.

Of course, she'd just spent fourteen hours is 1937 so it's not surprising that the present day feels infinitely more strange, but something doesn't sit right with her. As they pull up outside Annabeth's house, it starts to become clear as to why.

Her father's car is gone, replaced with a silver ford she doesn't recognise. One glance at her watch tells her that it's nearing 7am. Who would visit so early and why on earth is her father gone?

The door swings open with a familiar creak as she enters the house.

"Boys? Dad?" The office door that her dad would usually reside in is shut. The kitchen is empty. "Matthew? Bobby?" The floorboards upstairs thud and Annabeth lets out a breath she didn't realise she was holding. "Boys, are you upstairs?"

"Who are you talking to?"

She freezes. She doesn't recognise the voice that spoke from the top of the stairs and she daren't turn around to look. The voice sounds like a man, probably her own age, but Annabeth can't for the life of her work out who that could be.

"Annabeth?"

The intruder knows her name. There's a series of footsteps as the voice makes their way towards where she stands motionless in the kitchen. When he finally steps into sight, Annabeth thinks he looks surprisingly familiar.

His hair is a copper tinged shade of blonde, not too much darker than her own and he has a soft, oblong shaped face. The eyes were what made her nauseous. They were a steely grey like her own. If she tried to, Annabeth could almost mistake them for being a pale blue, but she knew better. Something in history must have changed because this man in front of her - the man that looked eerily familiar to her reflection - knew who she was.

"Yes?" The response was nonchalant enough that he wouldn't think much of it. She didn't really know what else to say. Frustratingly, she didn't know his name or what he was doing here. She didn't know where her brothers were either (her real brothers, not this man in front of her who is surely related to her in some way).

"Are you okay? You look like you're gonna be sick." Oh, the irony.

"I think I'm okay. Where's Bobby and Matthew?"

He looks at her blankly. "Who?"

It takes her four minutes to gather enough information to make sense of it all.

The man is called Malcolm and is apparently her sibling on her mom's side. He's a few years older than her if she understands his boastful comments correctly and he's very proud of his degree in art history. She never even knew her mom, let alone that she had other kids. The way Malcolm confuses Bobby and Matthew with a "Lewis?" that she's not familiar with suggests that she and Malcolm are not the only children of their mother, Athena.

"Okay, but my dad..." She almost calls him Frederick. "Have you heard from him?"

Malcolm's eyebrows draw together. "Annabeth, what's up with you? You never ask about your dad."

"Please just answer the question."

"Don't you remember?"

His blue eyes - they were blue, not grey, she had convinced herself - soften under her hard glare.

"Annabeth... Your father's dead."

The sound of her phone ringing shatters the silence that echoes between her ears. Chiron's voice sounds tinny on the other end of the line and Annabeth doesn't quite process the specifics of what she's hearing.

"I've got to-" Annabeth stands up to fast that she makes herself nauseous. Immediately, Malcolm reaches out to her but she flinches and practically falls out of the room.

Her brain feels like mush all through the car journey back to Olympus Industries as she tries to work out what on earth is going on. Something changed in 1937 that altered the timeline and inadvertently killed her father, possibly even her brothers alongside him. How long has her father been dead? Are Bobby and Matthew even alive? Is their mother alive? Are they with her?

Annabeth almost feels sad. It's a strange feeling to grieve for someone who hasn't died although that same person seems to have been dead for a while. It sends her mind on tangents and spinning through theoretical paradoxes. Frederick Chase is - was - a pretty bland character who didn't know how to raise his children and had more of a fascination with aircrafts than than being a stable financial support for his family. He'd been married and divorced twice and didn't kick up a fuss when said women wanted nothing to do with the children he couldn't stand to look at. Annabeth is old enough now to reflect on the fact that it had merely been the whisky that kept him from needing to leave. He'd drunk himself into oblivion each day to the point where he couldn't tell the twins apart despite their obvious differences and he couldn't remember that he'd lost his job years ago so all that research he wasted his time on was useless. But still, the knowledge that he's dead makes Annabeth's bones feel like lead.

Focus, Annabeth. The boys.

She searches through her phone for any clues that could help. Her instagram profile is just as neglected as she remembers it being. No Matthew or Bobby follows her account. It could be that maybe they were born a few years later or they lived with their mother in this universe, she might prevent them from having social media. Annabeth was grasping at straws.

Olympus Industries was just as packed with people hurrying about in various states of stress as it had been just two hours ago. She sees Chiron and Jason hunched over a computer and shouts.

"What's going on?"

Jason starts to mumble about the time and location of Castellan's time machine but she interrupts.

"I don't care about that. Something changed in 1937. Whatever happened needs fixing." Annabeth shouted, probably getting unwanted attention from other staff members as they walked by.

A door swung open and Leo, Percy and Grover ran in. "What's the fuss?" Leo questioned, propelling himself down the stairs by the banister.

"Everything's different. Apparently, my father's dead? What about my brothers?" For the first time since she'd heard the news, Annabeth's eyes begin to tear up.

A map appeared on a projector and Chiron shook his head. "We don't have time. Castellan has travelled to Massachusettes, April 20th, 1692. Any ideas as to why?" Annabeth stays silent, desperately trying to even out her breathing. "Annabeth, you're the historian."

"She just lost her family, give her a damn minute!" Percy snaps, setting a hand on her shoulder. His touch brings her back to reality and she manages to clear her thoughts.

As much as she hates herself for it, she pushes her own life out of her mind and focuses on saving history once again. Who knows, maybe it will screw with her own life so much that her family will be back to normal as soon as she returns from this trip.

"Massachusetts, 1692 is the beginning of the Salem Witch Trials."

The room falls silent save for Jason tapping away at a keyboard.

"What does Castellan want there?" Grover asks, anxiously tapping his fingers on his arm.

Someone pushes her towards the wardrobe department and she hears Chiron answer "You'll have to find out when you get there, we've no time."

Focusing on her breathing, Annabeth managed to climb into the petticoats of what looked to be the clothes of a pilgrim woman. With the help of the techie she had met earlier, she dons an apron and a waistcoat and managed to tuck most of her hair under a colf.

The girl introduces herself as Piper and attempts to fill the quiet air between them with mindless chatter. As she helps Annabeth to lace up her chunky shoes around her aching ankle, she lifts her head.

"I'll look into it while your gone, find out what happened to your family."

Annabeth manages to blink back tears enough to make eye contact with the girl. The eyes she meets are difficult to categorise as one color, though maybe that's because her head is still reeling, but there's definitely some sympathy in them.

"Thank you."

For the second time in 24 hours, the trio pile into the Argo II and hold on to their stomachs.

**Author's Note:**

> Join my discord to stay updated on my writings, other works and accounts :)  
> aGnRjeP52g


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